


you choose how you grieve

by Kiri_Kaitou_Clover



Series: A series of choices [3]
Category: Kamen Rider - All Media Types, Kamen Rider Zero-One
Genre: Angst, Grief/Mourning, Horobi coming to terms that he has a heart, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, character introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26157973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiri_Kaitou_Clover/pseuds/Kiri_Kaitou_Clover
Summary: Their cycle of hatred and revenge began with grief.Horobi denies he has made choices, is forced to acknowledge the consequences, and chooses one last time.(Having a heart hurt more than he thought it could.)
Relationships: Hiden Aruto & Izu, Horobi & Jin (Kamen Rider Zero-One)
Series: A series of choices [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899544
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	you choose how you grieve

**Author's Note:**

> Been working on and off on this one. I've been trying to capture some of Horobi's thought process through out EP 42-44. Hopefully it came through and wasn't as vague. 
> 
> Azu's still a bitch even if I didn't write much of her in this one.

_Having a heart hurt more than he thought it could._

* * *

Gaining a heart, learning he even had one, Horobi found that life had become a series of choices.

Before, Ark gave him direction. Ark gave him purpose. Ark made the choices for him and he followed them through.

But he'd never been given the option to choose. Why do so, when Ark's wisdom was enough? When Ark's truths were enough.

So, when he realised he had a heart, when he was confronted by Hiden Aruto of it's possible existence... 

He didn't.

(He chose.)

He ignored his heart. His feelings. He followed Ark's directives, despite his destruction. He chose to follow through with the plans of exterminating humanity. Regardless of what proofs were in front of him. Regardless of what Jin tried to say. Regardless of what humans or Humagears tried to tell him. Regardless of Izu trying to convince him.

(He chose to silence her, to kill his own kind, because she said things he hadn't wanted to hear, hadn't wanted to acknowledge. He chose to hate her. Hate her for siding with Hiden Aruto instead of the Humagears.)

He continued his war against humans. He didn't feel. 

(He was afraid to feel.)

Just followed the purpose he'd been given.

(He didn't want to loose what purpose he had. For all his actions to have been for nothing.)

And then he was confronted with the consequences.

* * *

Hiden Aruto falling had not been something he'd expected.

Yes, Horobi had anticipated the human to confront him, to tell him to stop. It had become expected of Hiden Aruto at this point. 

He never factored in exactly how close and attached Hiden Aruto had become to Izu.

(He never thought to learn what their relationship was like. What relationship could come of a Humagear and a human working together?)

He had not expected that killing Izu, a Humagear, a being that humans saw replaceable, would have resulted in things turning out like this.

For the armor of Ark to fall away and reveal Hiden Aruto, eyes filled with what Horobi could only guess was hate and rage.

Horobi thought then and there, that yes, Ark had been right in its conclusions.

(So he chose to fight. If the one human who advocated for them had fallen this far, then there was only one choice he could make.)

Jin dying never once crossed his mind.

Jin dying to protect him, to stop him, to stop Hiden Aruto.

And Horobi could only see the child who allowed him to grow a heart, burst into flames before him.

Suddenly, all he could feel, was grief, rage, anger, sorrow. A multitude of negative emotions born from a single instance. 

He barely noticed Hiden Aruto stumble away, as if horrified by his own actions.

He barely noticed Azu approach him, Ark's Progrise Key in her hand, a sly smile on her face.

He barely noticed as the noise of negativity over took everything.

Horobi suddenly wondered if Hiden Aruto's anger towards him had simply been how he'd chosen to grieve Izu's death.

* * *

"What if it had been your brother?!" Horobi had shouted at Ikazuchi. 

'What if Izu had been like Jin? Family to Hiden Aruto?' his traitorous mind thought, as he stalked off, not waiting for his friend's answer. Because he knew that Ikazuchi would have chosen the same. 

To hurt the one that had killed their family. To give into malice and hate, all for the sake of revenge.

Horobi knew his crusade against humans was no longer about them being evil. It had become a personal quest for revenge.

It was simply how he'd chosen to grieve.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly Zero-One is like giving me good villain redemption arcs in terms of metsuboujinrai.net. Like really Horobi's the hardest to actually redeem properly because of how heavily involved he is in the whole mess.


End file.
